Scrub brush



y 7, 1968 F. 0. DOLAN ETQAL 3,381,326

SCRUB BRUSH Filed Jan. 50, 1967 'INVENTORS: FRANCIS .U. DDLAM. Saunas 14 3 M1, THEE.

BY @440 @w United States Patent 3,381,326 SCRUB BRUSH Francis D. Dolan and George W. Walther, Toledo, Ohio, assignors to American-Lincoln Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 612,668 7 Claims. (Cl. 15-180) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to a scrub brush of a floor machine having annular rows of bristles and passages extending through the mounting plate of the brush from above for supplying water inwardly of the bristles. The water is supplied to annular grooves in the top of the mounting plate which communicate with the passages extendin through the plate. A bafile or offset is provided at the lower surface of the brush to direct the water downwardly and prevent it from being thrown beyond the periphery of the brush.

Background of the invention Floor scrubbers commonly now have means for supplying liquid from a tank on the handle of the machine directly to a rotatable scrub brush mounted for rotation below a motor of the scrubber. With floor scrubbing machines of this type, the liquid supplied to the rotating brush invariably has been thrown outwardly beyond the periphery of the brush. While this is not usually a serious problem in the middle of a floor, when the machine is near a wall or furniture, for example, the liquid can be a serious detriment.

Means have been employed heretofore in an attempt to confine the liquid within the periphery of the brush. One of the most common attempts to overcome the problem was by the use of a skirt on the machine around the brush. Such skirts, however, would not completely eliminate the problems since they could not extend completely to the floor. They also added to the cost of the machine and also increased the maintenance thereof, particularly since the skirts were susceptible to damage during the operation of the scrubber. Further, the skirts prevented the machine from being manipulated as close to a vertical surface as otherwise possible and also added somewhat to the weight of the machine, rendering it more ditiicult to manipulate. Other means have been employed which do not have the above disadvantages but which have only met with limited success in the ability to keep the liquid within the confines of the brush. Such arrangements have reduced the extent to which the liquid was thrown outwardly beyond the brush but have not completely overcome the problem.

Summary of the invention The present invention provides an improved rotary brush for a floor scrubbing machine which completely retains the liquid within the periphery of the brush and yet does not have the disadvantages heretofore encountered. The new brush has a groove on the upper surface of a mounting plate of the brush into which groove liquid is supplied from a stationary supply line. The liquid is directed downwardly through passages located transversely of the mounting plate to supply the liquid to the lower surface thereof. Two annular rows of bristles preferably are mounted in the lower surface of the plate in staggered relationship with the transverse passages located behind bristles in the inner row. Between the passages and the bristles is an annular bafile or offset which directs the liquid downwardly and distributes it "ice as it flows from the transverse passages, thereby completely eliminating liquid being thrown beyond the periphery of the brush and specifically the outer row of bristles. The new battle is relatively inexpensive and adds little to the cost of the machine or the brush. Further, the baffle does not constitute a maintenance problem nor does it add significantly to the weight of the machine. Also with the *bafiie, there is nothing extending outside the periphery of the brush which makes it diflicult to move the brush near objects.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to provide a floor scrubbing machine having means for supplying liquid to a rotary brush thereof, with the brush having means for confining the liquid within its periphery.

Another object of the invention is to provide a floor scrubbing brush with means for maintaining liquid within the periphery of the brush without adding significantly to the cost or maintenance thereof.

Brief description of the drawing Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a floor scrubbing machine embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the floor scrubbing machine taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom view of the brush of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view of a portion of the rotary brush of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an annular bafile employed with the rotary brush of the floor scrubbing machine.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring particularly to FIG. 1, a floor scrubber or scrubbing machine 10 embodying the invention includes a drive unit 12, a handle 14, and a liquid supply tank 16 mounted thereon. The liquid usually is either in the form of a cleaning solution or rinse water, for example. Flow of liquid through a supply line 18 can be regulated by a valve 20 remotely controlled by an operator through a lever 22 at the upper end of the handle.

The drive unit 12 includes a base 24 on which a motor 26 is mounted and below which a drive shaft 28 (FIG. 2) of the motor extends.

A rotary scrub brush 30 embodying the invention includes a circular mounting plate or member 32 having an annular groove or trough 34 in the upper surface thereof with outwardly sloping sidewalls 36 and 38. The sidewall 38 is at an angle to the horizontal of from about 30 to 60 and preferably about 45 to aid in directing liquid downwardly. The groove 34 is positioned directly under the supply line 18 to receive liquid therefrom. A plurality of transverse passages 40 extend through the mounting plate 32 and communicate with the groove 34, preferably near the outer sidewall 38 thereof. With this arrangement, rotation of the brush tends to force the supply of liquid toward the outer wall 38 from which it is deflected downwardly through the passages 40.

Two rows 42 and 44 of tufts 46 of bristles 48 are mounted in the lower surface of the mounting plate 32 by any suitable means such as by being afiixed in holes 50 by adhesive. As shown, the tufts 46 slant radially outwardly at angles of about 15 to 25. \III a preferred form, the tufts 46 also slant away from the direction of brush rotation at an angle of about 5. Of particular importance, the tufts 46 of the row 44 are staggered with respect to the tufts in the row 42. This aids in retaining liquid within the periphery of the brush although by itself is insufficient to accomplish this purpose. Also of importance is the fact that each of the transverse passages 40 is located directly radially behind one of the tufts 46 in the inner row 42. This again helps to deflect downwardly the liquid supplied through the passages 40 and moved radially outwardly by the centrifugal force of brush rotation.

An annular baflie 52, according to the invention, is located at the lower surface of the mounting plate 32 between the inner row 42 of the tufts 46 and the transverse passages 40 in the plate. The bafile 52 provides a surface or offset extending downwardly from the lower surface of the mounting plate 32 preferably a distance from about one-eighth to about one-third the length of the tufts 46 and preferably at least one-fourth inch. As shown, the bafile 52 has an inner truncated conical surface 54 with an outer vertical surface. The baffle 52 can be integral with the plate 32 or mounted on the plate 32 by any suitable means. As shown, the baffle is located in a shallow groove 56 (FIG. 4) and affixed by suitable adhesive, with or without the use of additional fasteners such as brads 58. The baffle 52 preferably is made in a lineal strip with the mating ends cut at 45 angles to provide 'an overlapping joint, as shown in FIG. 5. While the baffle 52 is shown as being of plastic or other suitable resilient material, it can also be in the form of a metal ring or the like.

With the baffle 52, liquid supplied through the pipe 18 to the groove 34 and the passages 40 is spread out by the baffle 52. The liquid apparently is then further restricted from outward movement by the staggered tufts 46 with the result that no liquid at all is thrown outwardly beyond the periphery of the brush and specifically the outer periphery of the tufts in the row 44.

The brush 32 can be driven by the motor drive shaft 28 through any suitable connecting means. As shown, the connecting means includes a cup-shaped disc 60 which is connected by three pins 62 to the mounting plate 32 to enable floating movement therebetween. A central portion of the disc 60 has openings 64 therein to receive lugs 66 affixed to a central plate 68 at the end of the drive shaft 28.

While the dimensions of the rotary brush '32 are subject to many variations, a particular example thereof will be set forth. The mounting plate 32 has a diameter of ten inches with the rows 42 and 44 having forty-eight of the tufts 46. There are twelve of the transverse passages 40 with diameters of one-fourth inch and wit-h the passages located radially behind every fourth tuft in the inner row 42. The bristles 48 are 0.008 inch in diameter and of nylon where the machine is to be used for cleaning carpeting. The tufts are about one-and-three-fourth inches long with the baffle having 'a height of three-eighths inch.

Various modifications of the above described embodiment of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is to be understood that such modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, if they are within the spirit and the tenor of the accompanying claims.

We claim:

1. A rotary floor brush comprising a mounting plate having centrally located means for making a connection with a drive shaft of a scrubbing machine, an annular groove with a sloping outer wall in an upper surface of said plate around said mounting means to receive liquid from supply means of the machine, a plurality of transverse passages communicating with said groove and wit-h a lower surface of said mounting plate, at least two circular rows of tufts mounted in the lower surface of said late with the tufts in the two rows being staggered, said passages being radially aligned behind tufts in the inner row, and an annular bafile on said mounting plate between said passages and the inner row of tufts to intercept and distribute liquid from said transverse passages prior to reaching said tufts.

2. A brush according to claim 1 characterized by said bafile extending below said mounting plate a distance equal to from one-eighth to one-third the length of said tufts.

3. A brush according to claim 1 characterized by said baffie having an inner truncated conical surface.

4. A rotary floor brush comprising a mounting plate having centrally located means for making a connection with a drive shaft of a scrubbing machine, an annular groove in an upper surface of said plate around said mounting means to receive liquid from supply means of the machine, a plurality of transverse passages communicating with said groove and with a lower surface of said mounting plate, at least two circular rows of tufts mounted in the lower surface of said plate with the tufts in the two rows being located in a generally staggered pattern, and means forming an annular, downwardly-extending surface on the lower surface of said mounting plate between said transverse passages and the inner row of tufts to intercept liquid from said supply means prior to reaching said inner row of tufts and to direct the liquid downwardly.

5. A brush according to claim 4 characterized by each of said passages being radially aligned behind one of said tufts.

6. A rotary floor brush according to claim 4 characterized by said surface-forming means being an annular bafile.

7. A brush according to claim 6 characterized by said bafiie extending below said mounting plate a distance equal to from one-eighth to one-third the length of said tufts, the distance being not less than one-fourth inch.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,628,770 5/1927 Finnell 15-50 2,999,258 9/1961 Berberian 15-50 3,166,772 1/1965 Bodine 1550 XR 3,212,117 10/1965 Ernstberg et al. 1550 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,140,543 3/ 1957 France.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

P. FELDMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

